How activities are used in Microsoft Dynamics CRM................................................................... 29Find your activities .................................................................................................................................... 30View activities in a list .............................................................................................................................. 31Filter the list of activities to show only the ones you want........................................................ 32Add a new activity for a customer....................................................................................................... 33Add an activity for yourself .................................................................................................................... 34Attach a document to a note or task ................................................................................................. 35Mark an activity complete ...................................................................................................................... 36Mark several activities complete at the same time....................................................................... 37Best practices for CRM activities .......................................................................................................... 38

Monitor performance on the sales dashboard............................................................................... 41Nurture leads through the sales process.......................................................................................... 42What if youre no longer working a lead? ........................................................................................ 43What if you need to re-open a lead that you thought wasn't interested? .......................... 44Add stakeholders to an opportunity .................................................................................................. 46Send a sales proposal or price quote................................................................................................. 47Close an opportunity as won or lost .................................................................................................. 48

Mainly for service reps ........................................................................................ 49

Find cases assigned to you .................................................................................................................... 50Identify the type of service a customer is entitled to .................................................................. 51See how much time you have to resolve a case ............................................................................ 52Keep track of every customer interaction with notes and other CRM activities................ 53Schedule a service appointment for a customer ........................................................................... 54Research solutions to a customer's issue ......................................................................................... 55Group or merge related cases .............................................................................................................. 56Mark a case resolved ................................................................................................................................ 57

Make it yours ........................................................................................................ 58

Set some preferences ............................................................................................................................... 59Set your home page ................................................................................................................................. 60Set how many records you see in lists............................................................................................... 61Change the font size in your browser ................................................................................................ 62Change your photo for the activity feed .......................................................................................... 63

Welcome to the CRM Basics guide

The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Basics guide contains the essentials you need to know tonavigate the system, enter data, and move your customers through the sales cycle orresolve a service issue successfully.We included only what you need to know to get productive right away, and we keptevery topic as short as possible. (Think bite-sized servings of info that you can really use.We know youre busy.)

Get valuable learning even if your system has been customized

Even if your system has been customized to match your business (and you use differentnames or your screens look different), youll still find the CRM Basics guide useful,because we only included tasks that anyone using the system would do, no matter howthe screens have been changed.You can read the guide straight through in order, or only read the topics youreinterested in. Or, if youre the person responsible for training people at yourorganization, you can walk through the topics in the training sessions you do withemployees.

Use this guide to create your own training materials, if you wantTo make it easier for you to create your own training materials, were even giving you alink to our editable files, so that you can replace screen shots, change the text, or useyour own logo whatever works to make the training materials match your systemand style.

Find more answers and training online

To find more eBooks, videos, and other great content to help you get the most out ofthe system, check out the CRM Help & Training website (www.CRMCustomerCenter.com)from a connected computer, tablet, or phone.

Talk to usIs this the kind of guide youd like to see more of? Wed love to know whathelps you, or what doesnt work so well. Please take a minute to send us aquick note. Well use your feedback to improve our content.

Meet Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Build customer relationships with CRM

One of the biggest payoffs of using Microsoft Dynamics CRM is having one central,organized, easy-to-access place to store data about all your customers and prospects.Some of the data will be entered by you and your team as you work with yourcustomers. Some of the data can be pulled in from other sources like from youraccounting system, from Microsoft Dynamics Marketing, or even from Facebook andTwitter.Once the data is in the system, the real fun begins. You can use the insights you gleanfrom the data to manage your day, to stay on top of whats happening on your team,and to make informed decisions about how to nurture your customers and build lifelongrelationships with them.Next up: Be productive wherever

Be productive whereverMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is not just for using in a web browser on your computeryoucan also use it on your phone, on your Microsoft Surface, or on your iPad.This CRM Basics guide covers using the system in your web browser, to keep it as shortas possible (and because the mobile apps work almost the same as on the web).Download the app from the online store for your phone or tablet (search for Dynamicscrm to find the app). You may need to check with the person who manages your systemday-to-day, to make sure you have the security permissions required to use the app.

TipYou can also do your Microsoft Dynamics CRM work from within MicrosoftOutlook, if you want. Check with your system administrator for details.

Next up: What if your screens look different from what you see here?

What if your screens look different

from what you see here?If your organization works closely with a Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner, chances aregood that your system screens look different from what you see in this guide.And even if your organization doesnt work with a partner, someone at your organizationmay have added in extra features or used the tools that come with CRM to customize thesystem to match your industry and the way you do things.Not to worry.All of the topics in this guide are designed so that the clicks or taps are the same foreveryone. Youll be able to use this guide to learn the basics of Microsoft Dynamics CRM,no matter what you call the fields on the screens, or whether theyre arranged differentlyfrom the examples shown here.Next up:

Security settingsWhat if you cant access a feature?

Security settingsWhat if you cant

access a feature?Microsoft Dynamics CRM comes with security settings that control your access to certainfeatures, data, or even fields on screens, depending on your role.If it turns out that you cant see or access something described in this guide, or if somedata is marked read only, check with the person who manages your system day-to-day.You may need to get additional security permissions.Next section: Let's talk about customer data

Let's talk about customer data

Data is keyWhether youre in sales, service, or marketing, Microsoft Dynamics CRM helps youorganize and get big returns on your customer data.Because sales and service are unified in one system, salespeople have visibility into anyactive service issues so that they arent blindsided as theyre trying to close a deal.Likewise, if a customer calls in for support, a service rep can see that a big sale is pendingand handle the caller accordingly.With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, youll be able to spot and respond to issues that may beblocking deals, see how your service team is doing with meeting the terms of yourservice level agreements, monitor the success of your marketing campaigns, and somuch more.Next up: How Microsoft Dynamics CRM data is organized

How Microsoft Dynamics CRM

data is organizedAlthough you dont need to know a lot about databases to start working with MicrosoftDynamics CRM, its helpful to know a few things about how data is organized in thesystem.In particular, there are two definitions you should know because they are used manyplaces in the system: record and record type.Every day, youll work with different customer records and record types as you movecustomers through your business processes, collecting the data you need to fill in thefields for their recordsand ultimately to win their business.

Whats a record?In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a record is a complete unit of information. Think of it like asingle row in a table, with multiple columns (or fields) to store the pieces of info thatmake up the entire row.For example, for accounts you could have a column for Company name, Address, andContact name for the person you call when you want to check in on the account. Eachtime you add a new account to the system, youre creating a new record in the CRMdatabase.

Whats a record type?

Each record you add to the system belongs to a certain record type, such as an account,contact, lead, opportunity, or case. (Microsoft Dynamics CRM has several other types ofrecords besides these, but these are the ones youll probably work with most often.)Record types give you a way to group and organize similar data. For example, inMicrosoft Dynamics CRM youll find your contact records grouped under the contactrecord type.Case records are grouped under the case record type, and account records are under theaccount record type, and so on.Next up: What are accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities for?

What are accounts, contacts, leads, and

opportunities for?Account and contact records store much of the information that you and your teamcollect from your customers.You store data about companies you do business with in accounts. Similar to MicrosoftOffice Outlook or other email programs, you store data about the people you know andwork with in contacts.Usually, an account has more than one contact associated with it, especially when youreworking with a larger company with many departments or locations and you deal withseveral people to manage the account.Leads are for potential sales, and most organizations get leads from many sources. Youcan enter leads manually from business cards, generate them from marketing campaignsor inquiries from your website, buy them in mailing lists, create them automatically fromposts on Facebook or Twitter the possibilities are almost endless.If all goes well, after you nurture a lead, youll be able to promote it to an opportunity,which is another name for a deal youre getting ready to close.

What if you see different names for the types of records in your system?One of the beauties of Microsoft Dynamics CRM is that its so easy to customize tomatch your organizations industry, business goals, or preferences. So you may seedifferent names for the types of records, because your organization calls that type ofdata something different. For example, your system administrator may have changedaccount to company, or contact to individual.Next up: What are cases?10

What are cases?

You store all the data about customer issues or questions in a case. Cases can originatefrom phone calls, email, inquiries on your website, or even from posts on Facebook orTwitter. (Some organizations call cases incidents or tickets.)Cases store the details that service reps need to know as they resolve an issue. When youlook at a case record, youll see the case priority, where it originated, whether thecustomer has other recent cases, how much service the customer is entitled to, and howmuch time you have to resolve it.

Next up: Its all part of the (business) process

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Its all part of the (business) process

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is process-driven. But what does that mean?Everyone on your team moves customers through standardized business processes withthe same stages and steps for each type of customer interaction, collecting and inputtingimportant data along the way. Business processes help everyone follow best practices,even when handling situations that dont occur very often.You complete a step by entering data or marking the step completed in the process barat the top of the screen. When all the steps are done, you can move on to the next stage.For example, your organization might have a business process to handle a new salesopportunity by first qualifying whether the person has the budget to buy, and thendeveloping the opportunity by talking with a stakeholder. Next, you send a salesproposal, and finally you close the opportunity as won when the customer places theorder. (Way to go!)In this example, the business process bar for new opportunities shows you the fourstages to follow (Qualify, Develop, Propose, and Close), where you are in the process,and what to do next, so theres no guesswork.

What if your business processes look different from these examples?

The system comes with business processes for common sales, service, and marketingtasks. However, most organizations customize these processes to match the way they dothings. In other words, what you see here may not match exactly with the process barsyou see on your system. But regardless, the process bars work the same for everyone.You enter data in the fields, and then move the customer to the next stage.Next up: Navigate to your data

12

Navigate to your data

Microsoft Dynamics CRM is designed so that you can access your work area, customerrecords, and other information quickly when you need them.Everything drops down from the main menu at the top of the screen. The nav bar alsoincludes buttons to help you do common tasks quickly, like entering records orsearching for data.

The system is enabled for touch. If you have a computer or other device with a touchscreen, you can tap with your finger to select something or to input data.

Sales, Service, and Marketing work areas are at the top level of navigationAt the top level of the navigation, youll find tiles for Sales, Service, Marketing, andSettings, which are called work areas. Each work area gives you access to tools and infotailored for your role. The Settings work area is for system administrators. Youll find thetile for the Help Center alongside the tiles for the work areas. This website gives youaccess to help whether youre in sales or service, or a system administrator, ITprofessional, customizer, or developer.

What if you dont see all of the work areas, or if you see different ones?The work areas you see depend on your security settings. Also, some systems have beencustomized to reflect that the organization uses different roles.

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The different record types and other items are grouped by roleAfter you select your work area, youll find most of the information and tools you needto do your job. Youll see lists of the different types of records stored in the system, suchas accounts, contacts, leads, and opportunities. Youll also be able to access dashboards,the activity feed, marketing campaigns, and more.

Next up: View and sort records in lists

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View and sort records in lists

When you choose accounts, contacts, leads, opportunities, and so on, youll see a list ofthe customer records of that record type. You can filter the list to see only the recordsyoure interested in, such as all active accounts, or only the contacts youre following. Choose the down arrow next to the name of the list to see a different view.(You can see a subset of the records, depending on the view you select.)Choose a column name to sort.

Next up: Use Quick Search to navigate

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Use Quick Search to navigate

Want a quick way to find and navigate to a record? Use the search box at the top of thescreen to search for the one youre interested in.1. Type the search term, and then choose the Search icon (you want to include a wildcard character.

). Use an asterisk (*) if

2. In the lists of matching search results (which are grouped by record type), choose arecord to open it. If there are a lot of matches, point to one of the lists to see a scrollbar to move up and down and see more matching records.If you only want to see matches for a certain type of record, select a filter from thedrop-down list.

Next up: Get back to recently viewed items

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Return to recently viewed items

There are two fast ways to get back to the accounts, contacts, or other items that youwork on frequently.

Choose the Recently Viewed Items button on the nav bar. Or, pin the customerrecords you use all the time to keep them handy at the top of the list.

Next up: See other related records

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See other related records

Occasionally, you may want to check what else at your organization is going on with anaccount, contact, or other type of record.Theres a fast way to do that by using the breadcrumbs in the nav bar. (Breadcrumbsshow you the trail you followed through the system to get to the record youre currentlyviewing.) On the nav bar, choose the down arrow next to the record name to see other recordsrelated to the one youre viewing.

Next up: Enter new records quickly

18

Enter new records quickly

The Create command on the nav bar makes quick work of entering almost any type ofdata into the system. Plus, its always available from any screen whenever you need toenter new information into the system.With the Create command, you only need to enter data into a few required fields.(Required fields are flagged with an asterisk.) You can enter more information later whenyou have it, or when you have more time.1. On the nav bar, choose the Create buttonwant to enter.

, and then choose the type of data you

2. Fill in the fields, and then choose Save. Point your mouse to a field if you want to seea tip about what to enter.

Next up: Edited data can be saved automatically

19

Where is the Save button?

If your system uses the auto-save feature, youll notice that when you edit data in thefields on system screens, you dont need to choose Save. The system automatically savesany edited records after 30 seconds, or when you go to another screen.If you want to save an edited record sooner than 30 seconds, choose the Save button atthe bottom right corner of the screen.Note: You do need to choose Save when you create a new record.

Next up: Visualize your data on the dashboard

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Visualize your data on the dashboard

Each time you sign in to the system youll see the dashboard, which gives you easy-toread charts and graphs that help you see how you and your team are doing with keymetrics (also known as key performance indicators, or KPIs).The system comes with several dashboard layouts that are tailored for each role.For example, if youre in sales, youll see the status of open opportunities in the pipeline,or how many leads were generated by your marketing campaigns. If youre in service,youll see the status of open cases, and the distribution of cases amongst service reps bypriority. To get to the dashboard from anywhere in the system, go to Sales, Service, orMarketing > Dashboards.

Next up: Drill in to see the data that makes up a chart on a dashboard

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Drill in to see the data that makes up a

chart on a dashboard On the dashboard, to see a list of the records used to calculate the metrics shown inchart, point to the chart, and then choose the Drill in button.(You wont see the button until you point to the chart.)

Next up: Visualize data in different dashboard charts and for other fields

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Visualize data in different dashboard

charts and for other fieldsYou can try out different types of charts, and see how your data looks when you usedifferent fields for the calculations, right from within the dashboard layout. (Nocustomization required.) On a dashboard, choose a segment to view the data in a different type of chart, suchas a pie chart or bar graph. From the drop-down list, you can select a different fieldto use for the calculations, if you want.

Next up: Explore dashboard layouts

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Explore dashboard layouts

The system comes with several different dashboard layouts to help you highlight thedata and performance metrics youre most interested in. The best way to find one youlike is to take a look at a few. To see a different dashboard layout, choose the down arrow next to the name of thedashboard, and then select the layout you want.

Next up: Set your default dashboard layout

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Set your default dashboard layout

When your system is set up, the system administrator picks a default dashboard layoutthat everyone sees when they first sign in. If you want to see a different dashboard, youcan override the system-wide default. Display the dashboard you want, and then choose Set as Default at the top ofthe screen.

Next up: Import data from Microsoft Excel or other sources

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Import data from Microsoft Excel

or other sourcesTo keep track of all your customer data in one place, you may want to import contacts,leads, or other record types into Microsoft Dynamics CRM from other sources, such asfrom an email program, a spreadsheet, or your phone.NoteDepending on how much data you want to import and other factors, importingdata may take some planning. You may want to check with your systemadministrator for guidance.First, export the data into a file. These file types are supported: Comma-separated values (.csv) Text (.txt) Compressed (.zip) Microsoft Office Excel Spreadsheet 2003 (.xml)The maximum file size allowed for .zip files is 32 MB. For other file types, the maximumfiles size allowed is 8 MB.Use the Import Data wizard to import the data.1. Go to Settings > Data Management.2. Choose Imports, and then choose Import Data. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Next up: Export CRM data to Microsoft Excel

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Export CRM data to Microsoft Excel

If you want to do additional calculations or run your own reports, you can export yourCRM data to Microsoft Office Excel.Create a static Excel spreadsheet if you want to capture all of the data at a single point intime. Or, you can create a dynamic PivotTable or worksheet, and then select the columnsor fields you want to include.1. Display the view of the records you want to export, and then choose Export to Excel.2. If creating a PivotTable or dynamic worksheet, select the columns to include.3. Choose Export.

Next section: Notes, tasks, email, and other assorted CRM activities

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Notes, tasks, email, and other

assorted CRM activities

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How activities are used in Microsoft

Dynamics CRMIn Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you use activities to keep track of all your customercommunications. For example, you can take notes, send email, make phone calls, set upappointments, and assign yourself tasks as you work a sale or resolve a service case.These actions are all considered types of activities.The system automatically timestamps every activity and shows who created it. You andother people on your team can scroll through the activities to see the history as youwork with a customer.To get the most out of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, its important for everyone in theorganization to track all their customer interactions by adding an activity for every email,phone call, task, or appointment. That way, a customers history is complete.Activities can be included in reports to track your ongoing progress and monitor how theservice team is doing at meeting service level agreements.

Next up: Find your activities

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Find your activities

Go to your work area, and then choose Activities.

Next up: View activities in a list

30

View activities in a list

You can view all of the activities assigned to you, or you can view only certain types ofactivities (for example only tasks or only phone calls).

Choose the down arrow next to My Activities, and then select All Activities, orselect the activity type you want (for example, Email).

Next up: Filter the list of activities to show only the ones you want

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Filter the list of activities to show only

the ones you wantYou can filter the list of activities to see only the ones youre interested in. For example,filter the list to see closed activities, or to see activities assigned to other people on yourteam.In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a filter is called a system view.1. Choose the down arrow next to My Activities and then point to All Activities toinclude all the activity types, or point to the activity type you want (for example,Email or Phone Call).2. Choose the right arrow on the drop-down list, and then select the view you want.The views that are available depend on the type of activity.

Next up: Add a new activity for a customer

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Add a new activity for a customer

Most often, youll want to add an activity that is associated with a contact, opportunity,account, service case, or other type of record to help you keep track of all thecommunication history you have with a customer. (You can also Add an activity foryourself.)As your organizations relationship with a customer builds over time, you and otherpeople on your team can look through the activity feed as you work with the customer,and see the history of your interactions.Activities can be included in reports to track your ongoing progress.1. First, open the record. Either use Quick Search on the nav bar to find the customersname and then open the record.Or, go to your work area, and then choose the type of record, find the record in thelist, and then open it.2. Choose Activities to add a task or phone call to the record. Choose More () to addan email or appointment. Or, choose Notes, and then start typing.

Next up: Add an activity for yourself

33

Add an activity for yourself

Add a task or note for yourself when you want a reminder to do something personal, likeschedule a doctors appointment or attend a sporting event.Otherwise, to keep a history of your interactions with a customer, you should add newactivities that are associated with a customers record, so that those activities becomepart of the history that other people on your team can view. More information: Add anew activity for a customer1. On the nav bar, choose the Create button

, and then choose the type of activity.

2. Fill in the fields, and then choose Save.

Next up:

Attach a document to a note or task

34

Attach a document to a note or task

Documents, spreadsheets, pictures, and just about any type of file can be attached tonotes or tasks.1. Open the note or task.2. Choose Attach. (For tasks, look in the Notes section. You might have to scroll downto see the Attach button.)3. Browse to and then choose the file that you want to attach, and then choose Done.

Next up: Mark an activity complete

35

Mark an activity complete

After you call someone, complete a task, send an email, or go to an appointment, youcan mark the CRM activity for that action as completed.1. Open the activity.2. On the command bar, choose Mark Complete.

Next up: Mark several activities complete at the same time

36

Mark several activities complete

at the same timeYou can select multiple activities from the list, and then mark them all complete at thesame time.1. On the list of activities, choose to the left of an activity to select it.2. On the command bar, choose More commands (), and then selectMark Complete.

Next up: Best practices for CRM activities

37

Best practices for CRM activities

Now that you have a handle on how to work with CRM activities, here are somesuggestions about how to use them to your organizations best advantage.

Add an activity for every customer interaction. Make sure a customers historyincludes a record of every communication you have with them.

Use the right activity type for the action. It may be tempting to enter a new notethat says, Sent an email to confirm pricing, or Called to discuss their service case.However, you should add an email or phone call activity to track those types ofactions, and use notes for more general text.

Add activities for yourself, too. You can keep track of your own assignments,events, and notes without associating these activities with a customer.Use the Create command on the nav bar. Find these activities in the list by sorting onthe Regarding column, which is blank to let you know that the activity isntassociated with a customer record.

Keep in mind that activities roll up under their associated records. Lets sayyou want to remind yourself to follow up with Chris Preston, a contact whosassociated with the account, Imported Sports. Youll need to add the task activity to

38

the contact record for Chris (not for the account, Imported Sports).That way, your task will roll up under the account automatically, and you and thepeople on your team will see the task when theyre looking at the contact, and whentheyre looking at the account for Imported Sports.Next section: Especially for sales pros

39

Especially for sales pros

40

Monitor performance on the

sales dashboardTo help you stay on top of how you and your team are doing with meeting your salesgoals, the sales dashboard serves up key info for you, like the status of opportunities inthe pipeline, how youre tracking against your sales goals, and whos working the mostactive deals. To get to the dashboard from anywhere in the system, go to Sales, Service, orMarketing > Dashboards.

Next up: Nurture leads through the sales process

41

Nurture leads through the sales process

Youll move your leads through a business process with standardized stages and steps,collecting and inputting important data along the way as you get closer to sealing thedeal.You complete a step by entering data or marking the step completed in the process barat the top of the screen. When all the steps are done, you can move on to the next stage.In this example, the business process bar for new leads shows you the four stages(Qualify, Develop, Propose, and Close), where you are in the process, and what to donext, so theres no guesswork.

Next up: What if youre no longer working a lead?

42

What if youre no longer working a lead?

Lets say youve been talking to a lead, and you determine that continuing to work thelead wouldnt be worth the time, at least not right now. Not great news, but it happens.Youll need to disqualify the lead, and give the reason.NoteWhile you could delete the lead, doing that isnt recommended. Deletions cantbe undone, and deleting a lead also deletes any notes and documentsassociated with the lead. Instead, disqualify the lead to preserve the history. Inaddition, disqualifying the lead allows you to re-open the lead later if needed.1. Open the lead.2. On the command bar, choose Disqualify, and then select the reason.

Next up: What if you need to re-open a lead that you thought wasn't interested?

43

What if you need to re-open a lead

that you thought wasn't interested?Great news! A lead that you thought wasnt interested has contacted you, and it lookslike the person will buy after all. Assuming that you disqualified the lead (instead ofdeleting), youll be able to re-open it without re-entering all the old information.1. On the list of activities, choose the down arrow and then select theClosed Leads view.

44

2. Choose the lead you want to re-open, and then choose Reactivate Lead.

Next up: Add stakeholders to an opportunity

45

Add stakeholders to an opportunity

As you work on converting an opportunity into a closed sale, fill in fields with data as yougo, including adding key stakeholders and decision makers who can help you win thebusiness.1. Open the opportunity.2. In the Stakeholders section, choose the Add buttonname.

, and then select the persons

3. From the drop-down list, select the persons role.

Next up: Send a sales proposal or price quote

46

Send a sales proposal or price quote

As you move the prospect through the sales cycle, youll probably need to send adetailed proposal that includes products and a price quote.Because you may need to go back-and-forth with the prospect, the system keeps trackof the history for you.1. Open the opportunity.2. In the Product Line Items section, choose the Add button and then select theproducts. (Scroll down or choose the form navigation button to see the Product LineItems section.)3. In the Quotes section, choose the Add button and then fill in the fields to createthe quote. (You may need to scroll down to see the Quotes section.) Then, on thecommand bar, choose Activate Quote.

Next up: Close an opportunity as won or lost

47

Close an opportunity as won or lost

Eventually youll know whether youve won or lost a deal. Then youll need to close theopportunity and enter a few details about the reason.1. Open the opportunity.2. On the command bar, choose Close As Won or Close As Lost.3. Select the reason from the drop-down list, and enter a brief description of why.Choose OK.

Next section: Mainly for service reps

48

Mainly for service reps

49

Find cases assigned to you

One of the first things youll need to do when you start work each day is find the casesassigned to you. Go to Service > Cases.

Sort the list by case priority

To see High priority cases at the top of the list (and to know which cases to work onfirst), choose Priority.

Next up: Identify the type of service a customer is entitled to

50

Identify the type of service a customer

is entitled toWhile youre working on a case, you see all the details you need to know about the issue,like who reported it, where the case originated, and whether the case has been escalatedto a manager.In the Entitlement section, you can see the type of service a customer should receive(for example, basic or premium), and how much service they have remaining.

Next up: See how much time you have to resolve a case

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See how much time you have to

resolve a caseThe countdown timer tells you how soon you need to respond to the customers issue,and how much time you have to resolve the case and meet your service levelagreement goal.

Next up: Keep track of every customer interaction with notes and other CRM activities

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Keep track of every customer interaction

with notes and other CRM activitiesIn Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you use activities to keep track of all your customercommunications. For example, you can take notes, send email, make phone calls, set upappointments, and assign yourself tasks as you resolve a service case. These actions areall considered types of activities.While its important for everyone in the organization to track all their customerinteractions by adding an activity for every email, phone call, task, or appointment, itsespecially important for the service team.As salespeople and others work with a customer, they can look through the activity feedand see the history of steps youve taken to resolve the customers issue.Activities can be included in reports to track your ongoing progress and monitor how theteam is doing at meeting service level agreements.1. Open the case.2. Choose Activities to add a task or phone call to the record. Choose More () to addan email or appointment. Or choose Notes, and then start typing.

Next up: Schedule a service appointment for a customer

53

Schedule a service appointment

for a customerOccasionally, you may need to schedule an appointment for a service technician to goto a customer site to resolve an issue. Do this by adding an appointment activity tothe case.Any time you schedule an appointment using a cases activity feed, the appointment isautomatically included on the service calendar.1. Open the case.2. In Activities, choose More (), and then choose Appointment. Fill in the fields, andthen choose Save.

Next up: Research solutions to a customer's issue

54

Research solutions to a customer's issue

When you get to the research stage of the case resolution process, there are a coupleways to investigate the best way to resolve a customers issue.1. Open the case.2. On the process bar, choose Similar Cases to see the case history of similar cases.Read through your teams notes, to see if a similar approach will work for this case.3. Or, on the process bar, choose Knowledge Base Articles, and then search foran article.

Next up: Group or merge related cases

55

Group or merge related cases

Occasionally, you may notice that there is more than one case that is related to the samecustomer issue. There are a couple of ways to solve this.You can merge the cases together into one case, to focus your efforts on one record.Or, you can group the related cases together and track them under one primary case(referred to as a parent case). For example, if you get several calls about a service outageat a customers location, you can group all the cases about the calls under one primarycase for the service outage.1. In the list of cases, select the cases that you want to merge or group.2. On the command bar, choose one of following: Merge Cases, and then select the case that the other cases will be merged into.Choose Merge OR Associate Child Cases to group the cases, and then select the primary (parent)case. Choose Set.

Next up: Mark a case resolved

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Mark a case resolved

Youve taken the time to really understand your customers problem, youve researchedhow other people on your team handled similar situations, and you found a solution thathelped your customer get back on track. Nice.Now youre ready to mark the case resolved.1. Open the case.2. Make sure that all the activities associated with the case, and all required steps onthe process bar are completed.3. On the command bar, choose Resolve Case, and then enter how the case wasresolved, a short description of what you did, and the amount of your time to chargethe customer for.

NoteThe system automatically calculates the amount of time spent on phonecalls, email, tasks, and appointments (in other words, all the CRM activities),and includes it in the Total Time field. You dont have to fill it in.

Next section: Make it yours

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Make it yours

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Set some preferences

There are a few settings that affect how you work with Microsoft Dynamics CRM that youmight want to change. On the nav bar, choose the Settings button

, and then select Options.

Next up: Set your home page

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Set your home page

You can set your default work area, and the default page that you see when you first signin to the system.1. On the General tab, in the Default Pane drop-down list, select your work area.2. In the Default Tab drop-down list, select the home page you want. Youll see thispage whenever you sign in, and whenever you choose the Home buttonon thenav bar.

Next up: Set how many records you see in lists

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Set how many records you see in lists

You can control how many records you see in your lists of data. The minimum number ofrecords is 25. The maximum number is 250.

On the General tab, in the Records Per Page drop-down list, select the number ofrecords you want to see in lists.

Next up: Change the font size in your browser

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Change the font size in your browser

If youd like the text to be larger to improve readability, increase the zoom value in yourweb browser. With Internet Explorer, on the View menu, choose Zoom, and then select thezoom value.

Next up: Change your photo for the activity feed

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Change your photo for the activity feed

If youre not happy with the photo that Microsoft Dynamics CRM shows for you (or if yousee a gray box), change it. The new photo will show up in other peoples activity feedswhen they receive updates about your work with customers, or when you post acomment.1. Point to View your user information at the bottom of the screen to see a link, andthen choose the link.

2. Choose the photo, browse to and choose the new one, and then choose OK.

Last one:

In conclusion63

In conclusionOkay, now youve covered the basics, and youre ready to get to work turning yourcustomers into lifelong fans of your products and services. We wish you the best!

Find more answers and training online

To find more eBooks, videos, and other great content to help you get the most out ofMicrosoft Dynamics CRM, check out the CRM Help & Training website(www.CRMCustomerCenter.com) from a connected computer, tablet, or phone.

Talk to usIs this the kind of guide youd like to see more of? Wed love to know whathelps you, or what doesnt work so well. Please take a minute to send us aquick note. Well use your feedback to improve our content.

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